This description relates to identifying panelists to a panelist reporting system, and more specifically to identifying the panelists based on input interaction patterns of the panelists.
Accurately measuring what content items people viewed online is important in quantifying the effectiveness of transmitting content items to people through online mediums (e.g., web pages) rather than through other mediums, such as television. Such measurements are typically done by hiring a panel of users, and metering what they do online. For this approach to work, each panelist must follow a set of rules. In particular, each time the panelist uses a computing device to view content items online, the panelist must log in with a particular panelist identifier, and then sign-out when the panelist is done viewing content items online. These rules quickly become a hassle in everyday life, and panelists fail to log in and log out in accordance with the rules. In a household with two or more panelists, this can quickly lead to low quality measurements, when for example panelist A logs in, leaves his session open, and panelist B uses the computing device but does not sign-in. Accordingly, in such situations, the activity of panelist B is recorded as panelist A's activity.